For immediate release
For more information, contact: Joel Silverberg, Director of Broadcasting (865) 525-7825, joel@knoxvilleicebears.com.
Matt Ustaski and Leif Mattson had four points each and the Knoxville Ice Bears fell to the Quad City Storm 5-3 at Vibrant Arena at The Mark Friday night in Moline.
The Ice Bears have dropped 13 straight. Ten of those losses have been by two goals or fewer and Knoxville has either led, been tied or trailed by only one goal in the third period in 11 of those games.
Ustaski scored on the power play for Quad City with a wrist shot from the left circle at 6:25. Mattson found Ustaski with a circle-to-circle pass across the zone. Ustaski was left alone with time to wind up and lift the puck over Zane Steeves. Ustaski extended the lead when he collected a loose puck on the right side and flipped a backhand into the net at 13:21 for his 20th goal of the season.
T.J. Delaney was given a five-minute major for checking Davis Kirkendall from behind late in the first and Rex Moe helped Knoxville capitalize by scoring off a rebound 41 seconds before the intermission. Jason Price fed the puck to the right circle, where Kirill Nizhnikov teed off on it. Brent Moran stopped the shot, but Moe was able to put the puck back on net for his sixth goal of the year.
Dillon Fournier blasted a shot past Steeves at 16:19 of the second period. Cole Golka won the puck in the left circle and managed to feed it to Fournier on the right side for a one-timer that beat Steeves up high.
Dawson McKinney cut the deficit to one with a redirect from the slot with just over a minute remaining in the second. Price fed the puck across the blue line to Riley Robertson, who approached the right circle, feigned a shot and instead sent the puck to McKinney in between the circles. McKinney deflected the puck underneath Moran for his fourth fo the year.
Derek Osik tied the game for Knoxville at 7:33 of the third when his wrist shot beat Moran’s glove on the rush. Osik made a breakout pass to Daryk Dubé-Plouffe on the left wing. Dubé-Plouffe stopped on the left wall and slid a backhand pass to the slot for Osik, who lifted the puck over Moran.
Mattson scored from the high slot at 12:08 to give Quad City the lead for good. His shot appeared to deflect off a stick in the slot and pinball around Steeves. Golka provided an insurance marker on a two-man advantage with less than two minutes remaining.
Steeves made 37 saves for Knoxville. Moran stopped 31 shots for Quad City.
The two teams will face off again Saturday night.
ABOUT The Knoxville Ice Bears: The Knoxville Ice Bears organization began in 2002 and was an inaugural charter member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) in 2004. As four-time SPHL Champions and five-time regular season champions, the Ice Bears are an experienced and established organization, offering the city and its visitors a balanced product of highlight-reel hockey, unique and exciting intermission activity and endless fan interaction, presenting the most affordable, family-friendly way to enjoy sports and entertainment. Season, Partial Season and Flex Tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit www.knoxvilleicebears.com or call (865) 525-7825.
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